Duluth East at Grand Rapids 
January 4 (7:00 PM) 

This game has some significant Section 7AA seeding ramifications as the Greyhounds face off against the Thunderhawks at the newly refurbished Yanmar Arena. Grand Rapids won 2-1 the first time these two teams faced one another on November 28th. Can the Thunderhawks sweep the Greyhounds?

Duluth East is coming off a 4-4 tie to Blaine. The Greyhounds are led at forward by seniors Thomas Gunderson (10 goals, 11 assists, 21 points), Noah Teng (6-12-18), and Wyatt Peterson (3-5-8), as well as juniors Kyle Peterson (5-3-8), Ian Christian (3-3-6) and Caden Cole (3-2-5) carry most of Duluth East's scoring.

On defense, seniors Luke Anderson (2-7-9) and Christian Hauser (0-1-1) and junior Brody Olson (0-1-1) lead a blueline that, at times, gets carried away with activities after the whistle, and those penalties have proven costly. At goaltender, senior Kole Kronstedt (.862 save percentage) has carried most of the workload this season, but they have utilized fellow senior Drew Rauker (.882 save percentage) too.

Grand Rapids is coming off a hard-fought 3-1 loss to Minnetonka before the holiday break so they should be well rested and hungry when they face the Greyhounds. The Thunderhawks forward group is led by seniors Jacob Garski (5-12-17) and Kyler Miller (1-3-4), as well as sophomores Seth Carlson (6-6-12) and Nathan Garski (7-10-17), give Grand Rapids balanced scoring through its top two lines.

On defense, seniors Bauer Murphy (6-3-9) and Nathan Langlois, junior Luka Rohloff (1-2-3) as well as sophomore William Shermoen (2-4-6) are a well-rounded group that can neutralize the rush while also contributing offensively too.

At goaltender, the Thunderhawks have given the lion's share of starts to sophomore Carter Casey (.916 save percentage) but have provided opportunities to juniors Ryan Kerr (.894 save percentage) and Ryder Miskovich (.927 save percentage) as well.   

Roseville at Park of Cottage Grove 
January 4 (7:30 PM) 

This is an interesting Suburban East battle as the Raiders make their way to take on the Wolfpack in their first of two meetings this season. Which team will win round one of this series?

Roseville is coming off a 3-1 victory over Tartan. The Raiders are led at forward by seniors Charlie Arntzen (4-9-13), Jovan Fowler (6-0-6), and Louis Arntzen (2-5-7), as well as juniors Billy Connelly (9-6-15), Jake Troska (7-6-13) and Jacob Villella (7-7-14) carry the majority of the scoring for Roseville up front.

On defense, juniors Prentiss Maier (1-4-5), Riley Lackner (1-9-10), Collin Hites (1-8-9), and Jacob Elm (0-9-9) keep it simple on their end of the ice, but they are effective at limiting scoring chances. At goaltender, Roseville has split stars between 6'3", 215lbs senior Dylan Keeley (.873 save percentage) and sophomore Cooper Stevens (.893 save percentage) this season.

Park of Cottage Grove is coming off a 7-0 rout of Anoka. The Wolfpack are led at forward by juniors Owen Corkish (6-10-16), Jackson Rudh (11-8-19), Gavin Moss (6-6-12), and Max Kaplan (3-1-4), which supply most of Park of Cottage Grove's scoring punch. The Wolfpack have been very dangerous with the man advantage, converting at a 40% rate.

On defense, seniors Brody Nadler (2-1-3) and Wyatt Beaurline (0-2-2), junior Caden Schwartz (1-4-5), and sophomore Gavin Sand (0-3-3) keep it simple and work pucks up to the Wolfpack's speedy forwards to keep the Wolfpack on the offensive. Junior goaltender Aidan Miller (.882 save percentage) has made almost every start this season for Park of Cottage Grove.  

Monticello at Cambridge/Isanti 
January 5 (7:00 PM) 

The Moose travel to Cambridge to take on the Bluejackets in this Mississippi 8 Conference clash in the first of their two meetings this season. Which club will win the series opener?  

Monticello is coming off a 2-1 victory over Bemidji. The Moose are led up front by seniors Roman Thompson (14-14-28) and Gunnar Simon (9-20-29) as well as junior Landen Scherber (14-15-29), who will be leaned upon to carry most of Monticello's scoring.

On the blueline, seniors Cam Schmitz (0-5-5) and Brody Mich (4-6-10), as well as junior Adam Widmark (0-6-6), sophomore Levi Welle (0-6-6) and freshman Nicklas Nelson (4-7-11) are showing lots of early promise on Monticello's back end and help the Moose transition efficiently. Senior Owen Soderholm (.927 save percentage last year) will return as the team's starting goaltender.

Cambridge/Isanti is coming off a 3-1 victory over Farmington. At forward, the Bluejackets are led by senior Seth Terhell (18-5-23), juniors Josh Sauro (7-6-13), Colton Alcock (1-3-4), Sean Brown (3-8-11) and Caleb Wisen (8-6-14) as well as sophomore Jackson Ziebarth (4-2-6) carry most of the scoring for Cambridge/Isanti.

Defensively, senior Jared Foster (3-3-6), juniors Nolan Swenson (0-1-1), and Seth Splittstoser (2-3-5) play a safe, stay-at-home game and only get involved a little in the offensive zone. At goaltender, the Bluejackets look to junior Jaxon Sibell (.900 save percentage) to carry most of the goaltending duties, but they have utilized fellow junior Owen Roddy (.850 save percentage) as well.   

Thief River Falls at Northern Lakes 
January 6 (2:00 PM) 

The Section 8A Prowlers make their way to Hallet Community Center to battle the Section 6A Lightning. Will Thief River Falls steal the show, or will they be thunderstruck by Northern Lakes?  

Thief River Falls is coming off a 14-1 rout of Bismarck (ND). The Prowlers are led at forward by seniors Max Arlt (5-7-12), Cooper Anderson (10-1-11), Brayden Spears (1-5-6), as well as juniors Paul Anderson (2-2-4) and Jackson Boyer (2-1-3) try to set the pace for Thief River Falls' attack.

On defense, senior Jace Erickson (0-9-9) and juniors Spencer Hempel (3-4-7) and Owen Bushy (0-1-1) form a defense corps that is steadily improving. Senior goaltender Conner Roff (.921 save percentage) has carried all the workload for the Prowlers. 

Northern Lakes is coming off a 5-2 loss to Proctor. The Lightning is led at forward by seniors Logan Verville (8-8-16), Taylor Berg (7-6-13), and Kolby Severson (4-5-9), as well as juniors Drew Paulbeck (9-12-21), Jerome Martin (10-5-15) and Easton Anderson (5-4-9) give Northern Lakes quality scoring depth.

On defense, senior Isaac Peterson (2-4-6), junior Wyatt Balmer (3-9-12), and freshman Grant Vershey (0-4-4) are a group that likes to get involved at both ends of the ice. Senior goaltender Nigel DeSanto (.887 save percentage) has made most of the starts this season, but the Lightning have used sophomore Hunter Moreland (.933 save percentage) too.  

Orono at Delano  
January 6 (3:00 PM) 

This game has some significant seeding ramifications in section 2A as the Spartans make the short trip up to Delano to face the Tigers in their only meeting of the regular season.  

Orono is coming off a 5-2 loss to Mahtomedi. The Spartans are led at forward by seniors Joey Mugaas (4-11-15), Easton Sankey (3-7-10), Hayden Simon (3-3-6), and Cayden Effertz (3-2-5), juniors Trey Landa (3-5-8) and Lachlan Hoffman (2-7-9) as well as sophomore Jackson Knight (10-3-13) gives Orono decent skill and scoring depth.

On defense, senior John Engebretson (2-9-11), junior Miller Williams (0-3-3), and sophomore Luca DeCubellis (1-4-5) are a well-rounded group that can dictate the pace of play. At goaltender, Orono has given most of its workload to senior Peyton Anderson (.886 save percentage) but a few starts to junior Evan Schmidt (.909 save percentage).  

Delano is coming off a 9-0 route out of Greenway. The Tigers are led at forward by senior Teague Collings (4-9-13) and Jake Heinzen (6-2-8), as well as juniors Joseph McCabe (4-8-12), Bryce Peterson (6-4-10) and Mason Hargarten (7-6-13) as well as sophomore Daniel Halonen (5-6-11) provide good scoring balance up front.

On defense, senior Vinni Cappeleri (1-3-4), as well as juniors Aaron Halonen (0-4-4) and Markus Kangas (2-4-6), keep playing a safe, stay-at-home game. Delano's penalty kill has been effective, shutting down 94.9% of opposing power play opportunities.

Senior Ethan Englemann (.912 save percentage) has carried most of the goaltending duties this season, but the Tigers have also utilized sophomore Evan Geyen (.874 save percentage).